Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electrical cable connectors. More particularly, the invention relates to an adapter for repurposing an RF coaxial cable as an electrical power transmission line.
Description of Related Art
Remote Radio Head (RRH) installations position the transceiver proximate the antenna, for example on top of a radio tower. RRH thus eliminates the prior requirement of transmitting the RF signals to/from the transceiver between the ground and antenna(s) located on the radio tower via RF coaxial cable. A conversion between conventional ground based transceivers and RRH systems creates the need for delivering the full transceiver electrical power to the top of the radio tower and renders the previously utilized RF coaxial cable(s) between the ground and top of the radio tower obsolete. Depending upon the desired transmission power, the power requirements of the RRH transceiver may be significant.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,708,592, issued 4 May 2010, discloses an adapter for adapting existing RF coaxial cables for use as electrical power conductors. The U.S. Pat. No. 7,708,592 adapter connects to existing connector interfaces at the ends of the RF coaxial cable to couple one conductor of a dual conductor power cable to the inner conductor of the coaxial cable and the other to the outer conductor of the coaxial cable, to provide positive and negative branches of an electrical circuit between an RRH transceiver and a power supply.
Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a power adapter for coaxial cable and method of use that overcomes deficiencies in the prior art.